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Feedback through instant editing
Last week I blogged about what I now call “instant editing.” The idea was to share the top forty or sixty images from one day’s shoot with about ten peers right at the end of the day’s photographing in order to get some input on how to improve when photographing the next day. Last week, I talked about how I started this process (and why I hope to use it more in the future.) This week I want to share some of the comments that I received from my “reviewers.” What I found so interesting was not just what they said about the work, but how they said it. Their thinking is so compelling that I wanted to share it in order to possibly help others edit sets of images in the future.
30
Mar 12
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The idea behind instant editing
When I was younger, I envisioned the end of the business as a nightmarish world where editors would seem to be working inside my head, through some futuristic technology, telling me where to stand and when to push the button. My great fear was having the imaginary editor see what I was looking at through my camera, telling me (through a seemingly permanent earpiece) what to include or exclude and when to click. When that day arrived, I said that I was sure I would quit the business. The onslaught of live television broadcasting, as it overwhelmed the still image, only exacerbated my worst fear. At first I thought digital imaging would be the technology to drive the last nails into the coffin. A recent informal experiment proved that, at least for me, the future is not so grim and I actually have digital imaging to thank for a bit of new optimism.
23
Mar 12
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About ongoing, on-line critique groups
The photography world is often dominated by the rage for the latest camera, software or accessory. We all know that (and I am as guilty as the next person in terms of talking those up.) Long after the latest/greatest photo “toy” has been forgotten, there is one timeless thing that will make every one of us a better photographer, which is feedback. There are many ways to give and get that all-important feedback, much of which I have blogged about in the past. In my experience, one of the very best ways to get that is through an ongoing, on-line critique group.
30
Dec 11
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The key to growth as a photographer? Prints on the table!
Over nearly four decades as photographer, I have come to believe that one of the best ways to grow as a photographer is to have other photographers evaluate your work in a process I call “prints on the table.” In this brief podcast, I explain that process and the thinking behind it.
14
Sep 11
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I am in California, working on my project “Foreclosed Dreams,” where I have been photographing inside foreclosed houses. I am also teaching a series of classes. I am spending a lot of time on my new MacBook Air, running my photography business from the road. In between all this, I am working on building Photo Synesi ( http://photosynesi.com ), a new on-line critiquing system that connects serious photographers around the world. Through Photo Synesi, we help aspiring photographers get better through personalized feedback of their work. The title of one of the projects that was recently reviewed caught my eye because it perfectly described what we try to do.
01
Apr 11
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Pictures, purges and process (part two)
As of late, I have been writing about the massive spring-cleaning I have undertaken over the last few weeks. I am pretty much done with this archival edit and purge. I have also been thinking how much fun it was looking through thirty plus year’s worth of work. In all, it was a good starting point to reconsider the evolution of my style as a photographer. If I had to give that journey a title, as I went from a beginning photographer to an established professional, the best phrase would be “moving the goals posts.”
03
May 10
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How do you critique photographs?
How do you become a better photographer? That’s the big question isn’t it? In my experience, the best way is to take a lot of pictures and then get serious feedback on those same photos. (The second best way is to look at the work of other photographers.) With that in mind, then how exactly how do you critique photographs? As I say in my classes, “Saying wow, neat or cool is not critiquing photographs.” To seriously give (and get) feedback on photographs, we need a common, serious, analytical language for critiquing photographs.
16
Apr 10
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There is a new exhibition of the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. I look forward to seeing it in person in the near future. I have long been a fan of Cartier-Bresson’s work. His was some of the first important work I saw when I was studying the history of photography. The work showed me how photography could be so much more than just a representation of the scene in front of the camera. Up to that point I had learned most of what I knew about photography from a commercial photographer turned photo teacher. Starting from that point, Cartier-Bresson’s work was a paradigm shift for me. In the recent review in the New York Times of the new Cartier-Bresson exhibition, the reviewer is attempting to similarly shift the paradigm of how we should consider the work of Cartier-Bresson. His approach struck me as almost absurd (and his review had factual errors.)
12
Apr 10
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Surviving “Hell Week” in fine-art photography
The phrase “Hell Week” refers to a number of similar rituals, among them the initial time of hazing in college fraternities, the most rigorous component of the United States Navy SEAL training program, a police academy’s most rigorous training regimen, the technical week of theatre rehearsals or the most common usage, the week of intensive conditioning before the start of any season of a sport. There are undoubtedly other examples of this ritual of hard work, emotional stress and personal challenges. The first “Hell Week” that I survived was at the start of my first of two seasons playing water polo in sunny Southern California. A couple of friends recently survived what I have come to think of as the “fine-art photography” version of “Hell Week.”
09
Apr 10
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Grants made easy and grants made hard
Is it my imagination or are some photography competitions almost begging for submissions? Lately, I have been inundated with calls for work! I have been gathering various these requests for submissions in order to make a blog entry on the subject. I am not sure if it was my looking for them that made me extra sensitive or maybe it might be how the web creates a kind of echo chamber so when one site lists a competition, five of my friends send me the same notification.
08
Feb 10
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An introduction to critiquing photographs
This podcast introduces a clearly delineated set of criteria to use in critiquing and analyzing photographs, regardless of the type of photograph.
30
Dec 09
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An editing exercise - part two of two parts
This podcast takes you through the second section of a two part process of editing a large number of images down top a select few.
02
Dec 09
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An editing exercise - part one of two parts
This podcast takes you through the process of editing a large number of images down top a select few.
18
Nov 09
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An almost foolproof on-line submission system for competitions
I was recently preparing my submission for the Aperture Portfolio Prize competition. I had a bit of a pleasant surprise when I submitted work from my project: Foreclosed Dreams. Though I have mixed feelings about competitions that require you to buy something, in this case, the subscription to Aperture that I had to buy in order to enter seemed to be a good investment. I entered because I am at the point in the project where I have done some work, but before I decide to invest lots of time (and money,) I want some outside feedback on that work.
20
Jul 09
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Editing and critiquing photographs of India
This podcast shows the process of editing and critiquing a set of photographs of India, which were created by workshop students from the Objectifs Center in Singapore. The goal was to get from approximately sixty images per person down to about twenty images. The final twenty images should tell the viewer something about the photographer as well as how they experienced India.
17
Jun 09
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The importance of portfolio review events (part two)
In the first part of this two-part posting, I explained the basics of organized portfolio review events. Today, I am writing to share some of the things I learned having been on both sides of the portfolio-reviewing table, as a reviewer and a review-ee. Many (but not all) of the errors I allude to are mistakes I actually made at one point or another.
11
May 09
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The importance of portfolio review events (part one)
A portfolio review is when you show your work to another person (duh). A portfolio review event is a more formalized event where reviewers (editors, curators, image buyers, agents, etc.) gather in one place with explicit plans to look at the work of the review-ees (in our case, photographers.) Portfolio review events have a long and important history in the world of photography. They have also recently turned into something of a big business. Having been both a reviewer and a review-ee, I can offer perspectives from both sides of the portfolio-reviewing table.
08
May 09
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Taking photo contests seriously
A friend asked me if I could help her set up a photo-contest for her non-profit educational institution. I told her I do enter some photo contests, but I am quite leery of many, because they are often little more than easy ways for groups to gather imagery for their own use at little or no cost to them. I think I know a bad photo contest when I read the rules but what I really wanted to send her was resources for knowing what a “good” photo contest is, in terms of being fair to the photographers.
28
Nov 08
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Portugese photography festival
I was connected to information on an interesting photography festival in Chaves, Portugal.
10
Oct 08
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Lists of awards, prizes or grants
There is a new blog attempting to “bring together a listing of all the awards, prizes or grants which are given in the various fields of arts.”
22
Sep 08
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Photography driven Marketing campaign
My agency, Aurora photos, is running an interesting marketing campaign that explores both the artistic and commercial aspects of photography.
19
Sep 08
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The biennial portfolio reviews in Portland, Oregon scheduled for 2009 are now open for registration.
12
Sep 08
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“Opportunities” for photographers
I read a lot of stuff, every day, offering “opportunities” for photographers. Many of those are suspect, at best. Here are THREE interesting opportunities.
22
Aug 08
